Absorbent article providing a better fit and more comfort to a wearer

Abstract

A disposable pull-on garment has a front waist region and a back waist region opposite the front waist region. The disposable pull-on garment also has a chassis and front and back waist members attached to the chassis in the front and back waist regions, respectively. The front waist member has a first retraction force and the back waist member has a second retraction force. The disposable pull-on garment also has a pair of side members attaching the front waist region to the back waist region, thereby forming a waist opening and a pair of leg openings. Each of the pair of side members includes a waist zone and a hip zone. The waist zones have retraction forces which are about equal to the first retraction force, and the hip zones have retraction forces which are greater than the first or second retraction forces.

1. A disposable absorbent article for wearing about the lower torso of a wearer, the disposable absorbent article comprising: a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region disposed between the front and back waist regions; a front waist edge and a back waist edge; and a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge; the disposable absorbent article further comprising:
 a chassis comprising:
 a topsheet; 
 a backsheet attached to at least a portion of the topsheet; and 
 an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet; 
 
 a front waist member attached to the chassis between the first longitudinal edge and the second longitudinal edge adjacent to the front waist edge, wherein the front waist member has a first retraction force; 
 a back waist member attached to the chassis between the first longitudinal edge and the second longitudinal edge adjacent to the back waist edge, wherein the back waist member has a second retraction force; and 
 a pair of side panels each having a waist zone and a hip zone, wherein the waist zone has retraction forces which are about equal to the first retraction force, wherein the hip zone has retraction forces which are greater than the first or second retraction forces, and wherein the pair of side panels are attached to the chassis such that waist zone is disposed proximate to the front waist edge or the back waist edge. 
 
     
     
       2. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the first retraction force is about equal to the second retraction force. 
     
     
       3. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the second retraction force is greater than the first retraction force. 
     
     
       4. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the first retraction force and the second retraction force range from about 11.8 grams force/cm to less than about 33.4 grams force/cm. 
     
     
       5. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the retraction forces of the hip zones is greater than or equal to about 33.4 grams force/cm. 
     
     
       6. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the first retraction force and the second retraction force are about equal to 27.5 grams force/cm. 
     
     
       7. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the pair of side panels comprises a plurality of elastic elements sandwiched between a first and a second substrate. 
     
     
       8. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of elastic elements in the waist zone has a first distance between adjacent elastic elements and the plurality of elastic elements in the hip zone has a second distance between adjacent elastic elements, and wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance. 
     
     
       9. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of elastic elements in the waist zone has a first cross sectional area and the plurality of elastic elements in the hip zone has a second cross sectional area, and wherein the second cross sectional area is greater than the first cross sectional area. 
     
     
       10. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the pair of side panels further comprises a leg zone, wherein the hip zone is disposed between the waist zone and the leg zone. 
     
     
       11. The disposable absorbent article of  claim 10 , wherein the leg zone has a leg retraction force which ranges from about 11.8 grams force/cm to less than about 33.4 grams force/cm. 
     
     
       12. A disposable pant for wearing about the lower torso of a wearer, the disposable pant comprising: a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region disposed between the front and back waist regions; a front waist edge and a back waist edge; and a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge; the disposable pant further comprising:
 a chassis comprising:
 a topsheet; 
 a backsheet attached to at least a portion of the topsheet; 
 an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet; 
 
 a front waist member attached to the chassis, the front waist member extending from the first longitudinal edge to the second longitudinal edge adjacent to the front waist edge, wherein the front waist member has a first retraction force; 
 a back waist member attached to the chassis, the back waist member extending from the first longitudinal edge to the second longitudinal edge adjacent to the back waist edge, wherein the back waist member has a second retraction force; 
 a pair of front side panels, one extending from the first longitudinal edge in the front waist region and the other extending from the second longitudinal edge in the front waist region, wherein each of the first pair of side panels comprises a first waist zone and a first hip zone; and 
 a pair of back side panels, one extending from the first longitudinal edge in the back waist region and the other extending from the second longitudinal edge in the back waist region, wherein each of the pair of back side panels comprises a second waist zone and a second hip zone, 
 wherein the first waist zone has retraction forces which are about equal to the first retraction force, wherein the second waist zone has retraction forces which are about equal to the second retraction force, wherein the first hip zones and the second hip zones have retraction forces which are greater than the first and second retraction forces, and wherein the pair of front side panels is attached to the pair of back side panels, thereby forming a waist opening and a pair of leg openings. 
 
     
     
       13. The disposable pant of  claim 12 , wherein the first retraction force is about equal to the second retraction force. 
     
     
       14. The disposable pant of  claim 12 , wherein the second retraction force is greater than the first retraction force. 
     
     
       15. The disposable pant of  claim 12 , wherein the first retraction force and the second retraction force range from about 11.8 grams force/cm to less than about 33.4 grams force/cm. 
     
     
       16. The disposable pant of  claim 15 , wherein the retraction forces of the first and second hip zones are greater than or equal to about 33.4 grams force/cm. 
     
     
       17. The disposable pant of  claim 12 , wherein the first retraction force and the second retraction force are about equal to 27.5 grams force/cm. 
     
     
       18. The disposable pant of  claim 12 , wherein each of the front side panels and the back side panels comprise a plurality of elastic elements sandwiched between a first and a second substrate, wherein the plurality of elastic elements in the first and second waist zones have a first distance between adjacent elastic elements and the plurality of elastic elements in the first and second hip zones have a second distance between adjacent elastic elements, and wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance. 
     
     
       19. The disposable pant of  claim 12 , wherein each of the front side panels and the back side panels comprise a plurality of elastic elements sandwiched between a first and a second substrate, wherein the plurality of elastic elements in the first and second waist zones have a first cross sectional area and the plurality of elastic elements in the first and second hip zones have a second cross sectional area, and wherein the second cross sectional area is greater than the first cross sectional area. 
     
     
       20. The disposable pant of  claim 12 , wherein each of the front side panels further comprise a first leg zone disposed adjacent to the leg openings such that the first hip zone is disposed between the first waist zones and the first leg zones, wherein each of the back side panels further comprise a second leg zone disposed adjacent to the leg openings such that the second hip zone is disposed between the second waist zones and the second leg zones, and wherein the first and the second leg zones have leg retraction forces which range from about 11.8 grams force/cm to less than about 33.4 grams force/cm.